National News

Jobless rate tumbles in South Australia

Unemployment has taken a tumble in South Australia but the state government says there's no room for complacency.

Employment Minister Kyam Maher says the closure of car maker Holden's manufacturing is little more than a month away and the government will have to continue working hard to create jobs.

Figures released on Thursday put SA's jobless rate at 5.7 per cent in August, down from 6.2 per cent in July, giving the state the second-lowest rate in the nation behind NSW and 23 months of continuous employment growth.

"We now have 827,000 South Australians in work," Mr Maher said.

"This is despite the Liberal party, the big banks and Business SA constantly being negative about South Australia and South Australia's economy."

But this positivity will be tested with the imminent closure of Holden and the announcement Myer will close its store at the Colonnades Shopping Centre in Adelaide's south.

"That's why we need, as a government, to be continuing to work with business with our jobs accelerator grant and our future jobs fund," Mr Maher said.

The SA Government has been critical of the opposition and the peak business body lobbying against its tax on big banks, saying it erodes confidence in the state's economy.

But Business SA told AAP their position was based on feedback from the community through a survey which examined business confidence and conditions.

"It's not us coming up with these numbers, it's the responses that we get from our respondents," executive director for industry and government engagement Anthony Penney said.

He said they were delighted by the drop in unemployment but stood by their commentary that conditions for businesses weren't improving.

"Our position within the community is not to pay lip service for one side of politics or the other, it's to support or criticise policy and we do that," Mr Penney said.